Reliance Industries has denied reports that Chairman Mukesh Ambani is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on September 12. Earlier, Business World had reported that Ambani was set to meet Trump, with Ivanka Trump expected to play a key role in facilitating discussions that could pave the way for a US-India trade agreement. However, Ambani has denied these reports.
The expected meeting will come at a time when India is facing sharp 50 per cent tariff including 25 per cent tariff imposed by Trump as an alleged punishment for Russian oil and Trump’s trade advisor claiming Modi’s ‘big oil lobby’ is benefiting from the cheap oil deal between the two countries.
Mukesh Ambani had met President Trump at a private party in January shortly before the inauguration ceremony but Indian billionaire has been stuck in the diplomatic crosswire as US upped the ante against India.
Reliance Industries oil import from Russia jumped from 3% to 50%
According to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) cited by AlJazeera, Russian crude comprised just 3% of RIL’s Jamnagar refinery’s total crude imports in 2021. Since the war in Ukraine, this share has surged to an average of 50% in 2025.
In the first seven months of 2025, Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery imported 18.3 million tonnes of crude oil from Russia, marking a 64% year-on-year increase and valued at $8.7 billion. According to CREA, RIL’s Russian imports in this period were just 12% lower than the total imports for the entire year of 2024.
“Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine – all things not good!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on July 30.
India to Continue Russian Oil Imports: FM Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the other hand said on Friday, Sept 5 that ndia will continue to buy Russian oil. She said, “We will have to take a call which (supply source) suits us the best. So we will undoubtedly be buying it,” she said to CNN-News18, adding that India spends most of its foreign exchange on purchases of crude oil and refined fuels.
India-US trade deal by November: Piyush Goyal
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, September 3, that India aims to conclude a bilateral trade agreement with the United States by November.
He added trade negotiations with the European Union are progressing, and relations with China are “returning to normal” as border tensions ease. According to a report by Reuters, India has already finalised trade agreements with Mauritius, Australia, EFTA, the UK, and the UAE.